China produces 2.45 M tonnes of talc, but how much does it consume?
China's current talc production is assessed at 2.45 M tonnes/y, of which 800,000-900,000 tonnes/y from Liaoning province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Shandong province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Guangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Jiangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Sichuan province; and 300,000 tonnes/y from other provinces.
China currently produces about 500,000 tonnes/y of high-grade white talc and there is little scope for expansion, despite the prospect of global supply shortages. China also produces a small quantity of "black talc", notably in Shandong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Jiangxi provinces. This is relatively low-grade material, the black or grey colour being attributable to contamination with organic material. Chinese producers have considerable potential for expanding supplies of "black talc" if warranted by increased local and global demand.
China's domestic consumption of talc is assessed by 'CCR' at 2.1 M tonnes/y. This is a much higher figure than the estimate published last year in 'IM' -1.2 M tonnes, of which 98,000 tonnes for sanitaryware and ceramics.